1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to an image encoding/decoding system and method using graph-based pixel prediction, and a depth map encoding system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a case of encoding images including a moving picture, a method of performing a prediction-encoding on the images using pixels neighboring a pixel to be encoded has been used. For example, when an image of a single frame is divided into blocks each having a pixel size of 4×4 in an H.264 of a digital video codec standard, a pixel value of a current block may be predicted, in a case of encoding a single block, using a pixel value of each of neighboring blocks adjacent to the current block, and a difference between the predicted pixel value and the pixel value of the current block may be encoded, thereby improving compression efficiency.
In the above described conventional art, since the pixel value of the current block may not be accurately predicted only using the pixel value of each of the neighboring blocks, shape information of the current block may be additionally provided so that the pixel value of the current block may be more accurately predicted. For example, when encoding a depth map having three-dimensional (3D) depth information of an image, a method where the current block is divided into two regions using a single line, and a representative value of each of the two regions is encoded may be used.
Accordingly, there is a demand for a system and method for effectively encoding and decoding an image.